Wednesday, September 9, 2015


A Liberal Writes an Open Letter to Friends and Former Classmates.

A Conservative-Libertarian Responds.

An Exchange Ensues.



Libby Writes:

Friends:

This is chiefly intended for FreeThine as he is, to my knowledge, our only self-identified Republican  and because, even though we differ politically, I genuinely respect him as a well-meaning person of good character and integrity.

I'm concerned about the Republican Party.  I'm sure you think, what business is it of his?  He's a damned democrat!  That's true and maybe it isn't my affair, but I do worry. and for quite selfish reasons.  

For my whole life, the Republican Party has been a reliable counterweight to the Democrats.  They were predictable and kind of boring.  They stood for things ––things like fiscal prudence and a strong military, they were pro-business, and they believed in mainstream American ideals like free enterprise, separation of church and state, and economic opportunity for all.   Like 'em or not, you knew where they stood.

But today, and particularly in the present nomination process, it feels as if the GOP is coming unraveled. The candidates don't seem to have an answer to Donald Trump, and they are espousing wild ideas like building a fence between the US and Canada, forcibly deporting 11 million undocumented aliens, and bombing Iran.  Long-time leaders, principled men like Bob Dole, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, have been pushed to the curb, while vacuous airheads like Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, and that goober Mike Huckabee seize center stage.  If the party were a psychiatric patient, I'd say it was "decompensating."

And it's not just the primaries.  During the entirety of the Obama presidency, the Republican Party was never able to articulate a really coherent philosophy of its own or develop any real legislative agenda.  It was as if just saying "no" to Obama and the Democrats was enough.  Now, while they hold majorities in both houses, they are still playing defense while Obama goes his merry way.

I'm sure many Democrats look at the Republicans' predicament with glee.  I don't.  It says to me that the Democrats are probably every bit as vulnerable to similar excesses –– especially without strong, viable opposition.  There is even the possibility that one of these nuts could win and then we'd all be in the soup!  

So, I'd be interested in both of your perspectives.  Can the GOP get on a more even keel.  Are these extremist candidates just "flashes in the pan".  Let's try to go easy on the partisanship and just understand one another a little better.  Is this possible?

Respectfully yours,

Libby 

FreeThinke Responds



Oh Boy! PHEW! First, let me say I agree with much of your concern, Libby. The GOP in my never humble opinion has been held hostage since Ronald Reagan left office by a corrupt, out-of-touch cabal of deadhead elitists who not-so-secretly favor the the eventual establishment of a One World Government run as a quasi-Oligarchy by their august selves, of course.  These elites aka RINOS run the party's business to suit themselves and their cronies while completely ignoring the fervently expressed desires and needs of those who are supposed to be their constituents. The GOP today is clearly split into two irreconcilable camps.

Republicans are not dissimilar to way Jews have been known to characterize themselves when accused of thinking as a "bloc." Ask two Republicans what they think of a particular issue and you're likely to get five different opinions. ;-)

I cannot say, however, that I am concerned solely about the Republican side of the aisle.  The Democrats too appear to be edging closer and closer to disarray.  Mrs. H. Rodham Clinton appears to be less than an ideal candidate to put it mildly. Her troubles with what-appears-to-be extra-legal, illegal or unethical conduct has opened the way for the unlikely ascendance of 73-year-old Bernie Sanders, a one-time classic Red Diaper Baby, who despite being an avowed, unabashed Socialist –– a once-unthinkable political identity to which most Democrats refuse to admit  –– is now in a statistical dead heat with H. Rodham Clinton. (!)

Enter Vice President Joe Biden, who happens to have been born in 1941 along with a number of others with whom I've been closely associated. ;-) Joe is an affable guy who was my senator for 23 years when I lived in Delaware. He was always ready to lend a helping hand to "little people" with problems. I saw him in action in this regard on more than one occasion, and have to say I was favorably impressed by his compassion and by the efficacy of his response in dealing with myriad little matters that adversely affected the lives of rank and file Delawareans. As a statesman on the international front, however, I was less impressed. and always felt very frankly that he was out of his depth. 

Martin O'Malley? A good looking man with an impressive set of muscles who sings in a Rock 'n Roll Band now and then. He's not gaining any traction in this contest, however. Does anyone on your side of the aisle seriously believe he should?

And now to the BIG TUREEN: Friends, former Classmates and Countrymen, in my opinion we already are "in the soup," and it's threatening to boil over any minute. With 94-million Americans unemployed –– apparently a record –– and a 2300-point drop in the Dow these past few weeks, uncontrolled illegal immigration at epidemic proportions, a determination to give a hideous rogue state like Iran, whose leaders promise "DEATH to AMERICA" and openly vow to ANNIHILATE ISRAEL, $150,000,000.00 (one-hundred-fifty billion dollars!) appears to me to give them carte blanche to perpetrate greater, more powerful terrorist activities than ever. 

The Middle East, admittedly an eternal trouble spot, is now almost totally destabilized. It has become a seething cauldron of violence and mass destruction verging on complete anarchy. So now we see teeming hordes of desperate refugees seeking asylum and threatening to overburden beleaguered European countries who thanks to decades of misguided notions of altruism and fiscal mismanagement are having one sweet son-of-a-bitch of a time taking care of their own people as it is.

To add to the cheery good news. Bubonic Plague (The Black Death that killed half the population of Europe in the Middle Ages) has reared its ugly head once again in Arizona of all places. 

Literacy is down. Ignorance is up. Etiquette is a quaint archaic term most today don't recognize,  and public taste is deplorable.

Our problems have little to do with party politics. A new term (to me) has recently emerged:  The UNIPARTY. Senator Cruz calls it The Washington Cartel. 

Most Republicans feel betrayed by those they worked hard to elect to congress. We've seen two huge victories for the GOP in the recent elections, but you'd never know it from the pusillanimity and sheer stupidity exhibited by the supposedly victorious party.

Is it any wonder a boorishly irreverent, apparently fearless would-be demagogue with a Rock Star personality like Donald Trump has captured so much favorable attention? In case you hadn't noticed The People are fed up, sick and tired with an insolent, unresponsive ESTABLISHMENT that fairly REEKS of corruption.

On a more positive note I find myself attracted to Dr. Carson, because of his terrific background, and because he seems to be the Anti-Trump. He's quiet, dignified, respectful, kindly, very witty, and highly intelligent. I am encouraged to see him running second to Trump in most polls. 

More than enough for now, I'm sure. Aren't you glad you asked for my opinion? 

};-)>

FreeThinke


Libby Answers:

Dear, FreeThinke, 

I agree with many of your points.  I think we both see a beleaguered middle class as being central to today's roiling political scene.  But I do take exception to a few of your assertions: it is my understanding that the unemployment rate (5.5%) is now at levels of early in the GW Bush era.  Also, illegal immigration is down –– significantly.  According to the Department of Homeland Security, illegal immigration has fallen to its lowest level in at least two decades.  The Pew Research Center says the nation’s population of illegal immigrants, which more than tripled, to 12.2 million, between 1990 and 2007, has since dropped by about 1 million.  Over 600,000 illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America were kicked out last year!   So all this stuff about our being overrun by illegal aliens is bullshit.  Clear and simple!  It's the crap that Trump is putting out to make us all shit in our knickers.  And as to the Dow, if you can tell why it's down or up, more power to you.  More likely the current crash started with the Chinese than with anything domestic.

As to Iran, I strongly disagree that our being more truculent is going to solve anything.  Iran has been pledging the annihilation of Israel for decades.   As best as I can tell, it's empty rhetoric.  Garbage put out for domestic consumption.  Nothing more. Israel has the wherewithal, atomic and otherwise, to defend herself and much, much more.  Also, people are talking about the 150 billion dollars Iran will be getting like it's a gift.  It's not a gift.  It's their money –– their assets that we and our global partners froze.  Did we really think we were going to keep it?  I know Netanyahu would like to marginalize Iran and keep it as weak as possible.  But I really don't think this is in the best interests of a stable Middle East or even in the long-term interests of Israel.  Remember when France tried to keep us from invading Iraq?  Remember all that stuff about not eating French fries?  Well, sometimes the best thing an ally can do is to tell you when you shouldn't go to war –– not offering to hold your coat as you get your ass kicked.  As strong as our relationship has been and will continue to be, there are times when we can't just go along with Israeli positions.  There are lots of people inside Israel and lots of Jews here in America whom I think would agree with me.

Frankly, I am thrilled that we have an administration that is looking for peaceful solutions to our problems, and I really do think the terms of the treaty are extremely tight.   It will be very difficult for the Iranians to cheat and if they try to we can re-impose sanctions.  Isn't this a hell of a lot better than trying to solve problems with force?  Is this weakness on our part?  Thinking we could solve the regions' problems with force has been a disastrous approach.  It has undermined whatever stability there was in the region.  

Libby


FreeThinke’s Second Response


I'm not at all sure we can trust the statistics generated either by government agencies or avowedly liberal publications, Libby. 

Isn't it a bit too much like trusting the FOX to tell us the whole truth and nothing but the truth about his carryings on on the HENHOUSE?

"Figures may not lie, but liars always figure."

I don't trust numbers generated by avowedly conservative sources either. Instead, I go along with Mark Twain who famously said, "There are lies, God-damned lies, and then there are STATISTICS!" 

Here's more Twain to cheer you up and rile you simultaneously:

"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."

~ Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar

"It is the foreign element that commits our crimes. There is no native criminal class except Congress."

More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927

"Whiskey is carried into committee rooms in demijohns and carried out in demagogues."

~ Notebook, 1868

"I never can think of Judas Iscariot without losing my temper. To my mind Judas Iscariot was nothing but a low, mean, premature, Congressman."

~ "Foster's Case," New York Tribune, 10 March 1873 

Cordially,

FreeThinke


There’s still more, but first we’d like to hear what you think –– not of the candidates so much –– but of this particular exchange. If you were in the loop, what would you say to Libby’s letter? What would you add to or subtract from FreeThinke’s two responses? Remember please that Libby is a former classmate and very old friend who happens to think differently from me. Our political differences don’t give anyone a license to be rude, unkind or disrespectful.

50 comments:

  1. I'd say your friend "Libby" (not subtle, btw) was spot on and fact based. Clearly, the man understands exactly what's going on.

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    1. Clearly you are a bigoted partisan leftist operative who never thinks for himself at all, but merely spews leftist propaganda straight from the "can," as it were.

      Such practices are as tiresome as they are unserious, and most unwelcome here.

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    2. What on Earth are you carrying on about? I merely stated my agreement with your friend. Feel free to list the 'propaganda' you feel I spewed, if you can. Why would you encourage me to visit your blog only to rant at me like a madman, bro? Wow.....

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    3. "Walking Bull" possesses an amazingly candid screen name.

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    4. Or I'm Native American and you're just juvenile enough to snipe at a person's name. Yeah, let's go with that.....

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  2. Interesting. I have the same exact concerns about the Democrat party. When will they get off of their dictatorial high horse and get back to the good ol' traditional and genuine liberalism of Hubert Humphrey, JFK and Walter Mondale?

    They have become nothing more than a statist counterweight to the statists on the right.

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    1. Oh, I wouldn't credit the likes of JFK, Humphrey, and Mondale with much virtue. The truth is that EVERY D'Rat since FDR has aided and abetted the once-creeping Socialism that is now stampeding at full gallop over the Body Politic and trampling it to red jelly.

      Marxian-Fabian-Communist-Socialist-Progressive-Liberal-Statist TYRANNISM is all One Pseudo-Benevolent Creature that stands for unchecked, ever-increasing CENTRALIZED POWER administering a KLEPTOCRACY.

      One could no more be a "Moderate Leftist" than one could be "A Wee Bit Pregnant."

      Please don't be fooled by honeyed words and contrived academic distinctions.To be sure Hubert Humphrey was no Rosa Luxembourg, BUT whether you choose to believe it or not, the two of them were traveling the same road in pursuit of the same goal.

      Our great troubles began more than a CENTURY ago with the rise of the LABOR Movement, and the publication of DAS KAPITAL. It didn't begin RECENTLY.

      The ravages of the disease with which we were deliberately infected by the demonic intellectual aggressors of the Frankfurt School and their offspring has now developed and matured to the point where it's debilitating symptoms are patently obvious and life-threatening. But the dye was cast and the seeds were sown when your great grandparents were still young.

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    2. FT,
      We need honest and earnest liberals and conservatives all along the spectrum if we are to have a healthy republic.

      You friend laments the lack of a "reliable counterweight to the Democrats." I lament the same, from the other side.

      Look at the lead up to the Iraq War. You had a few inconsequential Democrats in safe seats bleating antiwar messages, but the vast majority of Dems who carped bitterly later did not have the courage of their convictions to vote down Bush-Cheney's monstrous disaster.

      Where are the Democrats demanding an end to H1B visas? Where are the Dems looking out for working people?

      A healthy democracy needs a balance of conservative and liberal voices and ideas. Heart and Head. Reason and Emotion.

      What we have now is a jumbled up mess in the middle not unlike a gigantic wedgie, with fringies on either side shouting across the mess at one another.

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    3. Unfortunately, Silver, wishing will not make it so. What we believe we NEED, and what we'd LIKE to HAVE exist only in the realm of fantasy.

      The Democrats have been undermining liberty while advancing the cause of tyranny since long before either of us was born.

      "If we can prevent government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy."

      "It would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights: that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism – free government is founded on jealousy, and not in confidence which prescribes limited constitutions . . . In questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."

      “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”


      ~ Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

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    4. So you lead me again to that famous conclusion, "What difference does it make?"

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    5. stomp, snort, and gruntSeptember 9, 2015 at 7:36 PM

      We need honest and earnest liberals and conservatives all along the spectrum if we are to have a healthy republic.

      Amen Silverfiddle!

      Libby presented his case well. You are fortunate to have such a intelligent and intuitive contemporary as a friend FreeThinke.

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    6. stomp:

      Libby delivered a pretty standard critique one can easily find from more reasoned voices at HuffPo, Atlantic, etc.

      Still, he exhibits a common malady: He can find the speck in the opposition party's eye, but he studiously ignores the log in his own party's eye.

      Delete
    7. stomp, snort, and gruntSeptember 10, 2015 at 4:31 PM

      A malady exhibited quite frequently his opposition party's eye as well.

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    8. Yes, SS&G, but the difference Us and Them is that most people who share my views are almost too willing to admit to their flaws, while the not-so-loyal Opposition assumes a haughty, smug, sanctimonious posture of all-knowing, inherently righteous superiority.

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  3. * He is deluded about Iran. This is not about them annihilating someone with a nuke. It is about them merely having one, and the protection and status it will afford them. They will have a bomb within a few years, and that will make them an equal at the table and allow them to cause terror via their proxies with impunity.

    * He has also swallowed the red propaganda on immigration. When the economy went into the toilet, many Mexicans returned home. As our sputtering, barely accelerating economy picks up steam on its four bald tires, the wave will increase. And what about all those children which Obama invited in, spreading disease and straining our capacities to handle them?

    What about the billions our government hands out to corporate providers of the services to Obama's children from south of the border? Can leftwingers not see this big wet financial kiss from Obama to his corporate cronies, at the taxpayers' expense?

    * He skips over the FACT that our artificially-low unemployment rate is attributable to having the lowest number of people in the workforce since Jimmy Carter.

    Just like on the GOP side, way too many Democrat put their heads in the sand and refuse to face unpleasant facts because their hero occupies the White House.

    Democrats like your friend care more about keeping the bundle of sticks bound tightly, naked partisan gamesmanship and worshiping their Obamessiah than they do about the American workers, and the ground that is eroding beneath their feet.

    Too many people on ALL side cannot face unpleasant facts, and that is what is unraveling us.

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  4. I think that the Left has gone off the rails entirely (in the 60's) and that any talk of "reasonable Republicans" past-present-future by "them" is talk of Republicans who went off the rails in pursuit of Democrats. Once the two of you realize this, perhaps you'll get back on the different pages, where you belong.

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    1. -ps - I know that you don't want to p*ss your friend off, but perhaps you should clue him in. He's wrong about EVERYTHING, not just a few little things. Force IS the solution. And the failure to apply it effectively is why America is no longer a world leader.

      If you want to "help" the world, you need to commit yourself to changing it. If not, you need to go back the the founding isolationist principles described in the Federalist Papaers.

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    2. -pps - I don't care WHICH way you go... but the flip-flopping back and forth every four years is entirely counter-productive.

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  5. FT: One of my comments was lost. Can you retrieve it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just did. (Please see above.) Why such a remark should land in the SPAM box is anyone's guess.

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    2. Maybe your filter is smarter than we suspect... ;-)

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  6. It is a sad day for security of this country and
    Israel. Hussein Obama is going to give Iran the bomb and it seems he has
    succeeded. Death to America were/are the chants from Iran. Why do the people
    supporting this deal not want to believe them? Where will Obama be when the
    mushroom cloud is seen over America or Israel?

    Iran said they want the bomb to USE the bomb. They
    want to destroy the Little Satan, Israel and the Great Satan, America. The ONLY
    solution is to stop them from getting the bomb by stopping them from advancing
    their nuclear program. By threatening to destroy the US, they lose their right
    to anything nuclear.

    What the response to Iran should be or should have
    been: No Nuclear Power or anything to do with nuclear. If Iran wants an
    alternate method of energy let them build windmills. I would give Iran 30 days
    to dismantle all nuclear sites. If they refuse to dismantle the sites then they
    would be bombed and leveled. That is the policy, no further negotiation needed.
    I hope your liberal bleeding heart Obsma lovers are happy now!
    Not really!

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  7. The Clintons and their bunch of devious cronies should be hauled before a federal grand jury and forced to testify. Moreover, there needs to be a special prosecutor with unlimited subpoena powers appointed to continue the investigation as it is unlikely that the Obama Administration, with its own pending scandals, is inclined to investigate lest the Clintons go nuclear in a MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) attempt to prevent a constitutional crisis that would see an American president and high-ranking officials sent to jail as common criminals.
    At the very least, Hillary Clinton needs to withdraw from the presidential race. Whether or not the Clintons and their Clintonistas receive a presidential pardon and are allowed to keep their ill-gotten gains – to spare the country any anguish, of course – is yet to be seen. Let's hope that we never see the result of her ill ridden contempual behavior , and let's hope that we've seen the last of her in U.S. Public life.

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  8. Good t see you back. Great post today BTW!

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    1. Thank you, but don't you have any criticism of the content pro or con?

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  9. Late Breaking News!

    Donald Trump has clear command of the GOP presidential field with 32% support among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. Trump has gained 8 percentage points since August and enjoys his largest lead to date.
    Another political outsider, Dr. Ben Carson, is in second place among Republicans with 19% support. He has surged 10 percentage points since August.

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    1. Yes, I think most of us know that. I don't see it as bad news, but what does it have to do with the exchange of letters that make up this post?

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  10. To get back to the nitty gritty..... the serious stuff, don't you thing that there is really evil when I live in a country where I have to worry about my sons' safety because they are white. Because the infiltration at the very top has decided to brainwash the bottom feeder welfare thugs into thinking they are victims of everyone and everything. Lock and load and be vigilant every day but high alert 9/11. You can call me a RACIST if you want to, but I’d like to know why don’t the "good Black folks" Denounce these monsters?, as well as you and I do..

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  11. The knuckle-draggers like the one who writes this blog as well as the other right bloggers love to hear the little boys in short pants who post there call woman names all the time, it's how they roll. So we're not surpriu;sed that Trump would do the same. The GOP is anti-woman, and Trump shows it by making fun of another woman.

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  12. Hillary Clinton’s story regarding her emails while in office seems to change on a weekly basis, from “I never sent nor received any classified information,” to “They weren’t marked classified when I received and sent them,” to “I made a mistake.”

    “I made a mistake” is a long way from repentance.. But that old lying HAG just can't get herself to say "I'm Sorry"
    It's not in her makeup .

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  13. Trump is perhaps the biggest narcissist and demagogue of the last 50 years or longer. The GOP/tea party folks love him. Expressing
    nothing more than hyperbole, insults, blustering
    egoism, and no objective plan he excites the OAWF Rich, old, angry, white folks).
    The question is going to boils down to, who do you distrust more, a blustering narcissist, or a "lying, croup old hag".
    I would say go for the Third party guy!

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  14. Free Thinke, you are one of the strongest and most admired Bloggers that I know.
    Thank You for being here to counter thst fool Progressive person

    ReplyDelete
  15. Adelheid Einhorn-TeufelSeptember 10, 2015 at 12:53 PM

    Hillary Klinton is the most uber qualified person running for the president. Only a complete dummkopf would vote for Donald Drumpf or any of the other Republican midgets currently trying to attract our attentions.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Your ill opinion is worthless, because you present no substance to back it up. Not only that such comments (of which there are far too many) bore the socks off anyone reader with a modicum of intelligence and curiosity.

      Delete
  16. Donald Trump told a bunch of people he'd take care of women's health better than Hillary Clinton! This is his detailed plan to take care of women's health:

    Donald Trump pledged Thursday that supporting women’s health will be “a very major thing” in his presidential campaign.

    “I will take care of women’s health and women’s health issues better than anybody and far better than Hillary Clinton, who doesn’t have a clue,” he told reporters after an afternoon rally here.


    Details schmeatails! Who needs them. Not lthe TeaParty. They just like to hear Donald tell them pretty stuff like "I'm gonna build a beautiful wall with a beautiful door!" and "I'm gonna replace Obamacare with something terrific." And I'm gonna be better at women's health than Hillalry!

    These are inspiring plans from a 10 year old! And the Pee-Party loves that level of intelligence!
    Hillary may be a liar but at least she does have a rats nest on her head.
    Not that I'm saying a lying president is a good thing , but given the choice between a few little white lies and a Baffon like Trump, I'll settle for a few little white lies. After all who doesn't lie once in a while?

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    1. Who knew that Women's Health was guaranteed by the Bill of Rights? My, my, my, how far we have fallen....

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    2. Poor Skippy has just fallen and cut his knees on the gravel in your ill-tended driveway. Don't you think your time would have been better spent looking after your child's welfare than hissing like a puff adder about issues and concerns of which you clearly have no understanding, Madam?

      Now hurry up, gently wash poor Skippy's knees with soap and hot water, pat his knees dry, then get out the Tincture of Merthiolate, paint the abrasions generously, cover them with gauze and secure them with adhesive tape.

      HURRY! Your poor neglected child NEEDS you, Madam.

      WE do not!

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  17. Trump attacked Fiorini's face, not her "persona." Trump is a low-life cad who says rotten things about people in his own party then lies about what he said when what he said is clearly on the record. A woman's face is not her "persona."

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    1. Almost as bad as Hllary Clinton, but not exactly that bad.

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    2. I think Mr. Trump's comment about Carly Fiorina's appearance was in bad taste and ill-advised. I feel the same about some of the stupid things he's said about Dr. Carson.

      NEVERTHELESS, Mr. Trump has struck a nerve, touched a chord –– whatever smile you prefer –– that resonates well with an American public fed up, sick and tired of the malfeasance, ineptitude and colossal effrontery that characterizes the carryings on in Washington, D.C.

      Mr. Trump is brash, crude, vulgar, arrogant and egoistical, BUT he IS a man of proven accomplishment who bestrides the world of spineless, weak-kneed, limp-wristed, mealy-mouthed, obsequious devotee's of Political Correctness , and brown-nosed, toadying ignoramuses like a modern day COLOSSUS. Besides, unlike today's congress that seems preserved in aspic Mr. Trump knows how to GET THINGS DONE.

      Mr. Trump is playing a character part on a grand scale and loving every minute of it. I'm not eager to see him elected president, but I frankly ADORE the way he's shaking up the fusty, complacent, brain dead, Establishment, and it just amuses the HELL out of me to see the way his every word makes fire come out of the nostrils, and smoke pour out of the ears of the dreary humorless, rage-addicted leftists who take themselves much too seriously and make a CAREER out of taking UMBRAGE at everything in sight that wasn't generated by someone in their camp.

      A political campaign should never resemble a stilted, stultifying PAGEANT, which is exactly what the enemedia, the Oligarchs, and the fossilized Washington Cartel have tried to make of it.

      Her Heinous may win in the long run, but thanks to Mr. Trump and several lively, intelligent, daring candidates on the Right, her election will be the result of MANIPULATION by the ENEMEDIA and Leftist Vote Counters. Her margin of victory, IF she wins, will be WAFER THIN, and she will narrowly squeak into the White House through a side door in the dark of night.

      Thanks to the fearless exhibitions of shockingly bad taste by Mr. Trump there will be no CORONATION for Her Heinous.

      No cries of VIVAT, VIVAT VAGINA! will be heard anywhere in our still green and pleasant land after the election of 2016.

      For that alone I shall be forever indebted to tMr. Trump's impudent presence on the hustings.

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    3. Trump is resonating with many for precisely the reasons you mention, FT. He sized up quite well exactly which issues are of most concern to the middle class. Let the political establishment squirm! They deserve to! For too long the political oligarchs have bee disregarding their constituents -- except at election time. We are fed up!

      Btw, did you see this information from Gallup?

      http://www.gallup.com/poll/185381/one-five-voters-say-immigration-stance-critical-vote.aspx

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    4. shall check out Gallup at the very next available opportunity, AOW

      Thank you for the link.

      EXCELSIOR! ;-)

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  18. I enjoyed reading the exchange between two intelligent people with differing points of view. I wish more political commentary were as civil, balanced, nuanced, and well-written.


    -----------------------> Katharine Heartburn


    PS: I loved your use of the Twain quotes, FT. More power to you! - Kate

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  19. Why Trump's anti-immigration stance resonates:

    An estimated 49 percent of households headed by legal immigrants used one or more welfare programs in 2012, compared to 30 percent of households headed by natives.

    Households headed by legal immigrants have higher use rates than native households overall and for cash programs (14 percent vs. 10 percent), food programs (36 percent vs. 22 percent), and Medicaid (39 percent vs. 23 percent). Use of housing programs is similar.

    Legal immigrant households account for three-quarters of all immigrant households accessing one or more welfare programs.

    Less-educated legal immigrants make extensive use of every type of welfare program, including cash, food, Medicaid, and housing.

    The overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants have modest levels of education; therefore, the high use of welfare associated with less-educated legal immigrants indicates that legalization would likely increase welfare costs, particularly for cash and housing programs.

    Restrictions on new legal immigrants’ access to welfare have not prevented them from accessing programs at high rates because restrictions often apply to only a modest share of immigrants at any one time, some programs are not restricted, there are numerous exceptions and exemptions, and some provisions are entirely unenforced. Equally important, immigrants, including those illegally in the country, can receive welfare on behalf of their U.S.-born children.


    [source]

    It bears remembering that all these programs are being paid for via money extracted from the taxpayers' pockets (or perhaps via borrowing from China).

    The pyramid is inverting as the taxpayer base shrinks. Furthermore, less expendable income slows down our economy.

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